Escape - The Island

Escape's "The Island" tells the story of two American soldiers trapped behind enemy lines, one wants to get back to his unit, and the other wants to follow his dream.

The episode opens during the Battle of Okinawa in May of 1945. Two U.S. Marines have been caught behind Japanese lines at night. One of them, a soldier called only "Deboret," is tense, but Corp. Robert Lacey settles down for some rest. To pass the time, Lacey starts telling his companion about his dream island. Deboret has already heard about this "dream island" too many times, but Lacey babbles on...

Suddenly, they hear a rustling in the woods and when they investigate,  they see four people, three men and a woman. They catch up to one of the group, the woman Taki. She tells them that she wants to return to her island.  Lacey, in his battle-weary mind, believe she is really from the island of his dreams. He then decides that he must follow her back there--no matter what.

"The Island" was written by screenwriter Millard Kaufman and directed by Norman MacDonnell. Harry Bartell and William Conrad starred. Also appearing were Michael Ann Barrett and Edgar Barrier. This episode aired on July 11, 1951. (This is the best recording of this episode.)

. Download Escape 1951-07-11_The Island (Harry Bartell)

Escape presented this story a second time on March 8, 1953. Antony Ellis directed. Stacy Harris and William Conrad starred. Also appearing were Michael Ann Barrett, Jack Kruschen, and Steve Roberts. (The sound quality of this recording is pretty bad.)

. Download Escape_1953-03-08_The Island

Suspense recycled this script for the show on January 12, 1958. William N. Robson produced and directed. John Lund starred. Also appearing were Lillian Buyeff, Joe DiSantis, and Hans Conried. (The sound quality of this recording isn't too good either.)

. Download Suspense_1958-01-12_The Island

(Image of the Ryuku Islands from Wikipedia)

Comments

[Chris B]

I saw from your write-up that the writer, Millard Kaufman, was a screenwriter, and out of curiosity I looked up his bio. It turns out that he was a Marine during WWII, and served in the Battle of Okinawa (as well as Guadalcanal and Guam). For me, that definitely adds a little something to this program.